The Emerald Fear: A War Story
by A Visionary Skeptic
Summary: "But if they ever try to come back or overthrow my reign, they will suffer for it. Simple consequences." Her eyes were cold, a sign that she was completely serious about her vow. Raimundo stopped smiling but he nodded, accepting the terms. Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Raimundo never left the Heylin side, and the remaining Xiaolin apprentices must fight for their lives. It's up to them to save the world, but they cannot do it alone. It is during the destruction of life as we know it that the Xiaolin Resistance rises up to challenge Wuya and her Emerald army. Will they be able to stop her reign over the Earth or will they fail and have the world under her control for 10,000 years?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, just the plot and any original characters I may come up with.**

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><p>Run. Run away. That's all they could do for now.<p>

Kimiko was close to losing her footing, but she knew that wasn't an option. It was run or die. If you tripped, don't expect to get back up.

They'll get you.

She was tempted to look back, just to see if Wuya's rock henchmen were still chasing them. But she knew better. If she looked back and saw those glowing green eyes, the fear would rise in her, making it harder to concentrate on running away. No, they had to keep running until they were safe. She kept her eyes on her remaining teammates, Clay and Omi. They were debating on which way to run. Kimiko had to admire their lung capacity if they were able to talk and flee at the same time. Not too far behind her was Jack Spicer, their temporary ally. His propeller backpack was ruined and with no time to repair it, he had to run also.

Thankfully, Dojo had caught up to them, and he scooped them up onto his back, up into safety, far away from the earthen terrors. Kimiko was so happy, she could have cried. But now was not the time for tears.

"Dojo, my friend, how did you catch up with us?" Omi asked with his wide grin. Relief was clearly seen through his posture. In fact, they were all relieved. Unsurprisingly, Jack was too tired to complain about the undulating this time.

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that," the dragon replied between pants, "I was afraid Wuya was never going to let me go."

"Well, she kept her end of the bargain, I'll give her that." Clay muttered bitterly, tugging the rim of his hat over his eyes.

"So where do we go now?" Kimiko asked. She wasn't sure there was any place safe enough for them.

"Somewhere far away, I was thinking a small town in Mexico would be a safe spot to hide for a bit." Dojo answered, flying faster.

"Mexico?" Jack exclaimed, "Why can't we go to America, you know, a place where they speak English!"

Clay didn't turn back to look at Jack, "I reckon there are people who speak English in Mexico. An' if it keeps us safe then why should we complain?"

Jack mumbled under his breath his rude reply. The group remained silent for the rest of the trip to rest, and in Kimiko's case, to sleep and relive her reality of a nightmare.

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><p>"<em>Crush them!" Wuya cackled. The living rocks nodded and began to obey. Kimiko's "cell" was starting to shrink, as did the others. She pushed against the bars but nothing would help. It was only tiring her arms out. <em>

"_Wuya wait! You can't crush them like that!" Raimundo yelled. Was that panic she heard in his voice? Was he going to help them? She hoped so. Now would be a splendid time to turn away from the Heylin side and give his friends a helping hand._

_Wuya eyed him critically and the walls slowed their collapsing. After what seemed like forever, she spoke._

"_Alright then Raimundo, because you still care for your ex-friends," she smiled a bit when he winced, "I will allow them to live. In fact, I will let them go. Including Jack. I have no use for him."_

_Ignoring Jack's whimpers, Raimundo's face lit up with a smile. But Wuya was not done speaking._

"_But if they ever try to come back or overthrow my reign, they will suffer for it. Simple consequences." Her eyes were cold, a sign that she was completely serious about her vow. Raimundo stopped smiling but he nodded, accepting the terms to his old teammates' safety._

_Wuya smiled her malicious smile and the walls of the cells stopped caving in. She raised one hand and the room was filled with a green light. When the light disappeared, they were no longer in her throne room. They had been transported to the outside grounds of the castle. The witch pulled out an hourglass from nowhere and set it down. It grew to her size with a small amount of sand resting at the bottom. She motioned towards the hourglass. "If you all are within a 50 mile radius of this timepiece when the sand has completely ran through, I will send my minions after you. To make this a little interesting for me, I'll release this foolish dragon when half of the time has passed."_

_Kimiko grimaced but didn't protest. That would only make their situation worse. Wuya looked at her as if reading her thoughts and sneered in evil amusement._

_The railings of their cages retracted into the clay beasts and the Xiaolin Apprentices (and Jack) ran for their lives. And thus the race to refuge began. Kimiko never looked back, but she could still hear that heinous cackle of the witch. The noise competed with the sound of her heart in her ears as she kept running towards the cover of darkness the forest provided._

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><p>Kimiko felt two hands, one on each of her shoulders, shaking her. She opened one eye, afraid of whom it could be. She blinked and opened both eyes when she saw Omi with a concerned look on his face.<p>

"You were whimpering in your slumber." Omi stated, answering her unspoken question. She nodded and stood up. They were no longer on the dragon's back. No, they were hidden in the trees. With a quick jump, she landed onto the ground where Jack rested.

"Couldn't climb a tree, huh?" she mocked him. He scowled at her and began to walk away. Kimiko ran to block his path. He glared at her.

"Where do you think you're going?" she questioned him with her arms crossed.

He scoffed at her, "I don't have to stay with you losers. We're still technically enemies."

"I don't think so," Kimiko snapped, "You're gonna help us."

Jack rolled his eyes at this. "Help you? And why would you think I'd do that?"

Clay walked up to them with Omi following close behind. "You said you couldn't rule the world if Wuya was already ruling it. If we work together to overthrow her, then you can go back to trying to conquer th' world."

"Didn't you freaks hear her? She'll destroy us if we try! We're better off going our separate ways now."

Kimiko frowned, "I forgot how much of a quitter you are." Jack twitched at this. The female Xiaolin Apprentice continued, "Face it, you need us as much as we need you."

"Ha, so you do need me." Jack smirked, "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"Don't get such a big head. We don't have a plan yet."

The group plopped down to the ground in defeat. No plan meant no chance. No chance meant they were going to die. They all jumped to attention by the sound of Omi's sharp, sudden clap.

"We shall gather more people!" he declared. They all looked at him in confusion, motioning him to further explain.

"Surely if we have a large enough group, we can win again Wuya! We must gather more Xiaolin warriors!"

"Aren't we the only Xiaolin Apprentices out there? How are we gonna gather others if there aren't any?" Clay asked. Jack and Kimiko nodded in agreement. They didn't see the logic in this plan either.

Omi frowned, "We shall have to gather those worthy of our training!"

"Well, we don't have any other plans," Jack shrugged, "Let's go with it and see what happens."

Clay and Kimiko glanced at each other before agreeing. It was the best they could do for now. Together, the group gathered the little things they had and trekked through to find a town or city. It was time to put their plan in action.

Back in the throne room, Wuya turned to look at Raimundo, "I'm _very_ disappointed in you, Raimundo. You were close to betraying me."

Suppressed anger and frustration shone in her emerald eyes. Raimundo tried to swallow his fear but couldn't succeed. He opened his mouth to apologize but she waved him off, "It isn't important, I understand you were lonely," she smiled and showed her sharp incisors, "I'll be sure to remedy that."

She placed a motherly hand on his shoulder and Raimundo felt a jolt of electricity. He suddenly felt anger against his old friends. The devious old witch continued to smile, "Be a dear and give me that silly little puzzle box. I'll deal with that later."

He obeyed and placed the box in her outstretched hand. With a nod, he dismissed himself to his quarters, for he had an urge to play Goo Zombies 9. When he left, Wuya stopped smiling. She glared at the puzzle box, wishing she could destroy the blasted thing. But, alas, it was too strong for her.

She almost lost it all. How could she have been so foolish? The boy was still so young and naïve. He was craving for companionship, and not from a pile of dense lackeys made of dirt. Wuya sent the box to the deepest, most secretive place in the castle. She had more important things to do. Her spell on Raimundo had a short time limit if he continued to stay away from human contact.

It was time to grow her army.

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><p><strong>There are a few things I believe I should point out before I continue. Pairings that I'm certain that I'll end the fic on: <strong>**RaimundoxKimiko a****nd two OCxOC pairings**

**Other pairings may occur during the fic. And if you completely despise any pairings of any sort or style then you have been warned that there might be hints and maybe even a fic ending pairing as such. There will be no yaoi or yuri or shounen-ai or whatever because it's just not my cup of tea. **

**This is going to be more action/war centered than on romance so if you are searching for a major romance, this may not be the fic for you. ****I am a bit unsure of my fight scene writing skills so if some scenes sound a bit awkward then I apologize in advanced.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Raimundo never left the Heylin side, and the remaining Xiaolin apprentices must fight for their lives. It's up to them to save the world, but they cannot do it alone. It is during the destruction of life as they know it that the Xiaolin Resistance rises up to challenge Wuya and her Emerald army. Will they be able to stop her reign over the Earth or will they fail and have the world under her control for 10,000 years?**

**I'd like to thank my first reviewer, XSrules95. Your review motivated me to update and finish the next chapter all in one day! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, only any original characters I create.**

_Spanish-English_

_Diablos- devils/demons_

_Madre de Dios- Mother of God_

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><p><em>"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - <strong>Andrew Carnegie<strong>_

Our favorite band of heroes walked through countless towns, only to find destruction. This beautiful province of Yucatan, Mexico was no longer so sunny. The sky looked like a horrendous storm would rain destruction on the people below. There was chaos everywhere. Fights had broken out on several corners between panic stricken natives and many were crying in desperation. Something dangerous must have torn through this place.

Eventually they ended up in a large city called Merida, but they were unsure how to pronounce the name. A young man walked up to them, his eyes revealing his fear. "What are you outsiders doing here? Have you come to ruin us even more?"

A wad of spit flew at Omi's foot. They shook their heads no and walked away. Unfortunately for Jack, the man threw a nearby rock at his head, screaming in his native tongue for them to leave. He called them _diablos_ and, in English, for them to join the crazy bomb making girl to hell. This statement got their attention.

They would have asked him to tell them where this girl was, but the man was too hysterical. Kimiko motioned for them to continue walking as she led the way. Where to, she didn't know.

During their journey, they tried to ask for help but everyone turned them away. The people were too afraid of them. The group began to wonder what had scared these people so much that had made them so unforgiving and fearful towards them.

Once they reached a farming field, they stopped to rest. It was late and they needed to set up camp.

"What are you doing here?"

They turned around to see a girl their age, with cropped, black hair and clothing so dirty she must have been in a fight.

"Answer me!" she demanded in her heavily accented English.

"Are you the bomb girl?" Jack asked. Kimiko elbowed him in the side, hissing at him to be quiet. The Mexican girl glared at them.

"How would you know?"

"Those burns and rips on your clothing obviously happened through an explosion." he stated as if it was obvious.

"Because Mr. Failed Inventions here must have gone through hundreds of those." Kimiko muttered. Before the two could fight, Clay cleared his throat and tipped his hat in greeting.

"We've been traveling a mighty long way. We'd greatly appreciate it if you'd help us."

She seemed to ignite at this, "Why would I help you? If it were not for you all, I would still be with my family!"

The girl broked off tips of the small items in her hand. Explosives went off around them, raising the dust making it hard to see. The impacts of the bombs slammed into each of them in some of their weaker spots.

Everyone except Jack was able to escape from the circle of explosives by jumping out the ring around them the girl made. They circled around the neurotic girl and with Clay's Third-Arm Sash they were able to restrain her.

A disoriented Jack wobbled up to them, "About time…you losers…helped." he trailed off and slumped to the ground.

"No problem." Kimiko said and she turned to face the girl, "What's your name and why on earth are you trying to kill us?"

The girl was dazed but she had a defiant flare in her eyes, "Maya. Maya Santiago, if you demons must know my last name. Just kill me and get over with it."

Omi looked up at her with his curious expression, "Why would we do that? We are simply looking for help to fight against Wuya," he puffed out his chest and proudly informed her, "We are looking for the best to join our Army of Rebellion!"

The girl chuckled a bit, more out of disbelief than amusement, "It is a bit early to start a rebellion, no?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean," Omi stuttered in confusion. He barely understood the speech patterns of his friends, much less of this foreigner. Or should he say native? He was, after all, in her country. He shook his head and restarted his explanation, "We are going to fight the evil witch, Wuya, before it becomes too late. Master Fung told us she would reign over 10,000 years before anyone would be able to stop her."

"Then what makes you think you can stop her if her reign has barely begun?" She was humoring them. She didn't really believe them. Why should she?

This question silenced the group. Maya chuckled again with no amusement whatsoever, "I should have known."

"We'll still try."

Everyone turned to look at Jack, who had woken up from his "nap". Kimiko assumed he heard the whole conversation and was just dazed from the explosives.

"What do you mean, 'you'll still try'? There is only four of you, not counting the cowardly lizard." Maya scoffed. Dojo yelled in protest. He continued to do so until Kimiko silenced him when he started insulting her grammar.

Jack did his signature grin and answered the apparently obvious, "Then we'll have to get more people, won't we? The main question is, are you willing to help us get rid of the witch who started all this?"

When Maya remained silent, Jack knew he had to make a low blow. He leaned in and whispered, "The same witch that separated you from your family?"

Her eyes widened then narrowed, only to soften in grief. She hung her head low and didn't answer for a long time. They were about to give up on her when she answered.

"Yes."

They all smiled in victory even after she snapped at them for looking so happy. Clay freed her from the earthen fist of the Third-Arm Sash and helped her up when she fell. Maya grumbled but reluctantly led the way.

Clay pat Jack on the back, "Gee, buddy, we sure owe ya one. That was pretty slick of ya."

Jack brushed off his shoulders where Clay had touched him, "Yeah, yeah. For your sake she better be worth it."

"Do not worry, Jack Spicer," Omi said, "She shall learn the way of the dragon and help us defeat Wuya."

"What?" Jack screeched, "She gets to have an element?"

"I never said that."

"You might as well have."

A small grenade exploded at Jack's feet and he shrieked. He scrambled to get away from the spot it had landed in case more were on their way.

"Will you all hurry up? _Madre de Dios,_ if I knew you all were this slow I would have never agreed to help you!"

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><p>"¡Imbécil! ¡Tú eres el idiota más grande del mundo! ¿Qué piensas? " Maya screamed at Jack. She was trying not to waste the remaining homemade grenades she had left but this strange boy's antics were proving too much for her (short) patience.<p>

"I can't understand! Speak English!" Jack put extra emphasis on "English". He too was losing his patience.

Maya puffed, "You moron! You are the biggest idiot in the world! What are you thinking?"

Jack "oh"-ed in comprehension before deciding to be offended, "What do you mean by 'what am I thinking'? I am trying to get us something to eat before we starve!"

"By destroying half of the marketplace?"

"I was simply getting my point across."

Maya groaned, no longer angry but exasperated. Why did she have to be stuck with someone so infuriating? The other three stood at a distance, not wanting to get involved. Maya shook her head in defeat.

"I'll go get the food, ok? Just wait here and don't go anywhere." she threatened. Jack nodded before adding a cheeky comment under his breath.

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><p><strong>I hope you all don't mind the short chapters, but it makes it easier for me to update faster.<strong>

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Every review motivates me to write my best and update as soon as possible for you guys. Suggestions and critique is welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Raimundo never left the Heylin side, and the remaining Xiaolin apprentices must fight for their lives. It's up to them to save the world, but they cannot do it alone. It is during the destruction of life as they know it that the Xiaolin Resistance rises up to challenge Wuya and her Emerald army. Will they be able to stop her reign over the Earth or will they fail and have the world under her control for 10,000 years?**

**I'd like to thank XSrules95 once again for reviewing. Hehe, this chapter is for you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, only any original characters I create.**

_Spanish-English_

_Maldita sea- Damn it all_

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><p><em>"To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggles that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other."<em>_-**Carlos Castaneda**_

_**0o0**_

Nectarines were delicious this time of year. They were perfectly sweet and soft enough to bite into. They made an excellent dessert if you were low on money and rations.

The group ate the fruit in silence. What was there to say? They were three friends, an ex-enemy, and a stranger, all brought together through a war. How do you start a conversation in this situation?

"So how come you can speak English?"

"Jack! What kind of question is that?" Kimiko exclaimed.

"What? I bet you all were wondering the same thing."

There's never a lack of interesting conversation with Jack Spicer around.

Maya shrugged her shoulders noncommittally, "A lot of the tourists that stop by our shop speak English. It was kind of a requirement to learn the language since it was obvious they didn't want to learn ours."

"Does your family own a Gift shop?" Clay asked with a large grin.

She shook her head, "It's a mechanic shop. You know, fixing cars and such. I wasn't allowed to help with the customers' cars, but my father let me fix small appliances to earn a little extra money. Whenever my uncle got a new car to put together, he'd let me work on it with him." she smiled fondly at the memory.

Jack's eyes lit up, "So you know how to work with machinery? Maybe you won't be so useless after all."

Maya glared at his choice of words," You'd be the only useless one here. You can't even fight!"

"And you can?"

"Do you want to see my left hook?" she challenged.

Before any punches could be thrown, Omi spoke up.

"Kimiko, how are we going to train our students?" he asked, concern showing in his eyes.

The female Xiaolin apprentice thought about this. She didn't have any real experience in teaching others. She wasn't even a fully fledged dragon herself. And what defenses did they have against Wuya's clay henchmen?

"What are we up against?" Maya asked. She flicked the pit of her nectarine behind her. The group looked at her.

"You mean you don't remember?" Jack asked.

She rolled her eyes, "I've only been in your group for several hours," Her thick accent made it a bit difficult for them to understand her at first, "We haven't come across a fight yet."

A low rumbling sounded from afar. Everyone tensed and listened as it neared. When it stopped, there was an eerie silence that followed. Whatever it was, they knew it didn't go away.

Jack turned to Maya, "I swear you're a curse set upon us to make us suffer."

"You weren't saying that when you were eating nectarines five minutes ago." she snapped at him.

"Hunger impairs my judgment. Besides, I bet you swapped our nectarines for poisonous fruit!"

"Would the BOTH of you just SHUT UP?" Kimiko roared. She was satisfied when both hotheads looked at her in horror. But wait, something seemed off. They weren't really looking at her. Kimiko followed their frightened gazes.

Oh, they were looking _above_ her.

Kimiko rolled out of the way of the earth monster's descending fist. She tried to ignore the indent in the ground it had created.

"Hello? Why didn't anyone say anything?" Kimiko barked. No one responded. Instead of wasting energy on being angry at them, she directed her focus to their enemies. There were five earthen monsters, one for each person.

"Are you kidding me?" Maya screeched, "This is what we're up against? When were you guys going to tell me?"

Omi smiled sheepishly despite the predicament they were in, "You might not have wanted to fight alongside us."

The group analyzed the situation. These henchmen were made from native dark, rich soil instead of the grey rock back at Wuya's castle. Fortunately, that meant they would crumble easier on impact. The downside was that they could regenerate, and even multiply.

"How do we beat them?" Maya asked when she was done freaking out.

"We don't." Clay said, "We just defend ourselves until we can get away."

Maya saw that this greatly bothered Clay and didn't say anything else. She checked how many grenades she had left. Seven.

_Maldita sea_.

Clay, who had broken off a large branch from a nearby tree, defended himself by swinging his "weapon" at the monster's fists. He charged at the handless creature and clubbed it in the gut. Dirt flew everywhere.

Maya froze in fear as the monster regenerated itself right before her eyes. She let out a small squeak. It turned to the sound and spotted her.

A voice Maya couldn't identify at the moment cried out, "Don't just stand there!"

Panicking, she threw a grenade in its mouth. In its surprise, the monster closed its mouth. Seconds later its head exploded.

Maya let out her breath, "I don't know if I can do this."

_THUMP_

Maya screamed and covered her head. A few seconds passed and nothing had happened to her. She opened an eye. By her feet was a glowing, green rock. It almost looked like a diamond in the way that it sparkled. She picked it up to get a better look.

"Hey, do you think this is important?" she asked aloud.

And that was only the beginning of a seriously dangerous chain reaction.

The four remaining earthen monsters stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. Seeing the green rock in her hands angered them and they began stomping towards her. Fortunately, Maya had a bit of a head start. She darted through a nearby woodsy area, hoping to lose her deadly followers.

"What are we waiting for?" Kimiko ordered, "Let's go!"

The group took off running. It didn't take long for them to catch up. Through her panting breaths, Maya spoke up to the group.

"I need you to cover me. I have an idea" she wheezed. Without receiving an answer, she went ahead and took action.

She dropped to the ground.

The group skid to a stop around her in a desperate attempt to shield her. They fought off the monsters as best as they could. After slowing down a particularly large monster, Clay rushed up to Maya to see what she was trying to do. She was stabbing it repeatedly with a sharper, sturdier rock.

Clay looked up in time to see an empty shell of an earthen monster rise up from the ground and lumber its way to them. The lack of green glow for eyes had Clay do a double take. He shook his head and ran up to it in hopes that it would be distracted from Maya and instead attack him. Clay noticed how much slower this monster was. It seemed as if it had a hard time processing actions and its environment. Unfortunately, it noticed the bright glow of the rock Maya was trying so hard to break. It completely ignored Clay no matter what he did to provoke it.

Maya saw the large monstrosity lumbering towards her and panicked. She furiously added more force to the blows. With every crack that formed in the glowing rock, the more expressions of pain were shown from the monster.

Everyone -monster and human alike- stopped, unable to look away from the scene.

The tension in the air grew and Maya was close to tears, certain she was going to die. But she didn't stop trying to break the mysterious rock. With one final strike, the rock broke.

And all hell broke with it.

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><p><strong>I've decided to update once (and on some occasions, twice) a month. <strong>

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Every review motivates me to write my best and update as soon as possible for you guys. Suggestions and critique is welcomed. Thank you for reading!**


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